Meanwhile, in the southeast section of the Demancian continent lies the seven countries with their respective Kings and Queens. The bordering region, the Kingdom of Spades, issues a letter, informing the empires of a sudden invitation for war. A war intends to destroy and contain the Kingdom of Joker. Five of the states approved the Kingdom of Spade's decision and legally assessed the commencement of their skirmish. Markus, the King of Joker, eventually receives the scroll confirmed by a scout who delivered the message.
"Well done," A man dressed in a dirty white tuxedo, kudizes the scout.
His hair was white as snow, complimenting his fair and flawless skin covering the entirety of his body. While his face may be attractive among the women, the globes in his eyes conceal such treacherous ideals and will murder everyone who will stand in his way. The hands, coated with crimson blood, have slaughtered millions of humans and creatures combined, earning him the nickname "Evangelion", which means bringing good news whenever he stands.
However, little did the advance guard know that the man with the formal attire casts a swift magic projectile and abruptly kills the scout without a hint of remorse or regret.
Defenceless, the spotter dies in an instant without uttering a single word as his ultimate resort. His eyes, although already expired, stare at the man who killed him with a crooked smile.
"You must die for the sake of the Kingdom!" The bloke said with glee in his eyes while laughing frantically and dancing around the room.
The pitch-black hue of the castle cloaks the surrounding village with its eerie shadow. The high-rise moon was the only light that the world can offer to their place, as the city known as the King of Spades specialises in the arcane of Dark Sorcery.
Snow, the man wearing evening clothes, sits on his throne made with the bones and skin of the people he had murdered. A collection he was proud of showing the world of his achievements; his twisted procurements.
"Another bloodstain," An early adult woman wearing a maid uniform enters the room and grunts while sweeping her newly cleaned rag at the dead body.
"Revica, please do your job." Snow glances at the maid's figure, disgusted by the puddle of crimson blood on the floor. She always hated her job, but could not retort to her stubborn master.
Her mane was grey, nearly as white as Snow, resembling her more of a sister than a servant. However, her dress implies it all, suggesting that she is not from the noble class. Despite her classifications, she is the right hand of the malevolent King Snow, earning the right of the title "The Queen of Spades."
Often she would remark to the decimation inside their fort, because of her task as a maid responsible for cleaning Snow's killing sprees. The deceased bodies did not even come from her hands, yet she would scrub the place anyway while spouting balderdash words.
Inflamed, Snow draws his rapier and positions himself in a comfortable stance. He then quickly lunges, pointing the tip of his sword to the maid while bending and splitting his left knee slightly on the ground. But, alas, he finds his efforts fruitless as Revica parries the rapier with the use of her invisible ill-lit door.
"I am not in the mood," The maid utters in silence and vexes the King with a single phrase while materialising another set of panels to squash his blade.
Thinking he would lose, Snow retreats to the side and wipes his cold blood from the graze on his cheek. With a wide grin covering his face, he continues the match and returns to attack Revica.
Letting out an exhausted sigh, Revica closes her eyes and completes her spell, blocking every route that Snow would stride.
Pushed away by the imperceptible forces, Snow unwillingly withdraws and sheaths his rapier on his scabbard.
"Women are scary," He commented while taking a seat back to his chair.
Moments later, few of his henchmen open the gates and bring three women to play with. Each of the girls shares the same colour as Snow, indicating that the hands of hooligans caught them inside their own village and treated them as slaves.
"I caught a bunch of cuties~," Says the burly men with their weapons still grip on their hands.
With a slight cut on her knees, the woman shrieks for any sort of help but unfortunately meets their gaze to the leering, maddened King.
A sinister grin paints on his face while glaring at the petty women cuffed by his servicemen.
"Bring them to my room," Snow utters while motioning his finger to the large chamber where he usually performs his personal stuff freely.
Eventually, the wails of the women echo through their ears while slowly closing the ancient doors, cutting off their only entrance.
_________________________________________________________
"A war is coming?" I repeated, finding any assurance to Markus' abrupt news.
"Yes," With a single word, everyone present in the room succumbs to silence. Even the elite guards at his side were not aware of this announcement and failed to hide their shocked face from the audience. Upon realising their misbehaviour, they shuffle to their position and once more stood still like a human post.
Therese, the only heir of the Kingdom, has her mouth agape whilst staring at his father. Markus meets her gaze and expresses a worried look.
"What about the treaty we conducted a long time ago?" Therese gravely asks while rummaging through the documents on the nearby shelf. However, her movements promptly halt as she registers in her mind that the contract had already lasted some time ago.
Despite my mind still in a daze, I walk on the fore and catch the attention of the King.
"What are our roles in this upcoming war, your majesty?" I question the King on behalf of the two goblin friends listening at the corner. I thought they would stir up trouble during this serious talk, but my expectations were wrong.
"I want you to lend me your strength," Claire was the one who had answered my question. "But before that, are you aware of the continent?" She added while picking herself and walking over to the library, next to Therese.
She must have quizzed me about the archipelago, knowing that we are goblins confined in a specific place of the woods. Upon hearing her query, I followed her tail and sat diligently on the nearby chair together with Markus, who will listen about the story.
"Where should I start?" She utters while browsing the collection of tales and documents owned by the Windsor family.
"There are a diversity of books about the origin of the world. But the closest topic that I know of is a deity as old as the Yggdrasil tree. An ancient plant found in the holy lands and created organisms, food, and life here on the planet." Queen Claire states while grabbing an antique book and blowing the dust particles on its surface. Her hands' fiddle on the page and move at the centre and continue her story.
"Dozen enormous lands courses through the ocean, creating the twelve major Kingdoms governing the globe; all of which controlled by the humans. Somewhere on the north lies the territory of Demons; a living hell for everyone who steps foot on their lair. We tried conversing with them once but, wistfully, the troops returned covered in bruises and blood, claiming that the ghouls attacked them."
"We also have multiple species written in our books, namely the sprites including goblins, elves, spirits, and some we do not know," Claire utters while directly looking into my eyes. "Elves are a bit special. They have dark elves, long-eared elves, short-eared elves, and along with others. Dwarves, dragonets, sirens, and such are rare to find, but they all dwell in this world."
She catches her breath for a second and perches in the middle, laying hold the attention of everyone listening to the chronicle.
"However, a sudden island emerges from hundred years ago and immediately forms a prosperous village. The town then developed, earning the title of the thirteenth Kingdom of the Royal Round Table, The Kingdom of Joker. It was then they enthroned Markus as the King, and me as the Queen."
Claire closes her optics and leisurely looks at the gigantic transparent window. The scene exhibits the city, once called the small town.
"The Kingdom of Joker invites any species to live in the city. We prohibit racism against their kind inside our Kingdom and exiled if necessary; even to those neighbouring continents. Some Empires despise that culture, leading to arising conflicts of our ideals."
I raise my hand before she can return to her tale.
"Yes, Lake?"
"Why are the humans the rulers of the twelve Kingdoms?" I asked, curious about the history of the city. "Why don't the rulers include elves and others to expel those prejudices?"
The eyes of soldiers trails at my figure, puzzled by the goblin debriefing such a complex question.
"It could have been nice if that approach would stand strong. However, those unordinary sprites and other creatures are nearly extinct, if not sporadic to find."
I bend my head in acknowledgement after hearing such answers from the Queen.
"We awaited this much for them to initiate a war," Markus said while whirling his fingers above the table and visualizing a magic circle. "And right now, we finally obtained their letter."
With a flick of his fingers, the arcane spell shines a bright light nearly blinding my eyes. However, by the time I open my globes, I notice a figure running inside the dark woods.
"A spy," Markus said with his tone changed in anger. "They are on the move."
Without having directed orders, the elite knights scramble and head towards the gate and inform the proceedings soldiers about their mission. The Kingdom sounds the alarm, gathering everyone in the centre of the town's square.